Four Games in Fall premieres at West Newton Cinema

It became about so much more than that when it came to the media, the legal system and even how scientific facts were cultivated to tell different stories about the same event.

It is those overriding themes that director Julie Marron says are at the heart of the documentary “Four Games in Fall” that will begin its limited theatrical release with a Massachusetts premiere Sunday afternoon at the West Newton Cinema.

“We use Deflategate to talk about the bigger issues,” the Rhode Island native said. “I tried to take a 30,000-foot view and really delve down into what this whole scandal told us about the way it was presented from so many different perspectives.

“I think it will appeal to the football crowd. But I also think it will appeal to the NPR crowd.”

The screening will be held at 1 p.m. on Sunday with a panel discussion following the screening that will include Marron and New York Law School professor Robert Blecker and will be moderated by Dr. Jim Ludes, Director of the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy in Newport.

The documentary has received the award for Best Documentary Feature at the International Independent Film Awards, Hollywood International Independent Documentary Awards and Accolade Global Film Competition. Marron was also chosen as Best Director at the International Independent Film Awards.

Marron said as she listened to the intense debate surrounding the Deflagate saga following the 2014 AFC Championship Game between the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts – and the ensuing suspension and appeals process involving Patriots quarterback Tom Brady – she became fascinated with the larger issues it revealed about the media, court system and the industry of what she calls Science for Hire.

“We wanted to deconstruct the power forces that are involved with shaping public opinion and how people consume media,” she said. “This was a way to do it around an issue that was not so serious – although it was very serious to football fans.”

Marron said part of the documentary includes a study from Dr. John Leonard, MIT professor of measurements, who analyzed more than 10,000 NFL games looking for the baseline of the AFC Championship Game that included the baseline of a 71-degree locker room, a football set at 12.5 PSI and the weather conditions that January day in Foxboro, and determined that 80 percent of footballs under those circumstances would naturally“deflate” outside of the range the NFL allows.

“But by the time those studies started coming out the idea had already been cemented that Tom Brady had cheated,” she said of the way the initial PSI fluctuation had been reported.

She also shines a light on the “Science for Hire” industry in which different groups can be commissioned to essentially find ways to come to a predetermined conclusion with “scientific” facts as a basis for that conclusion.

“It impacts virtually every part of our lives whether you realize it or not,” she said.

The 95-minute documentary – which Marron said could have been a four-part miniseries based on all the interesting information uncovered – also examines how Brady’s appeal played out in the court system.

“It wasn’t about whether Tom Brady was innocent or guilty,” she said. “It was about who had the authority to decide whether Tom Brady was innocent or guilty.

“It became a power dynamic between the NFL and the NFL Players Association that can have ramifications beyond football. We were hoping to engage people on these types of issues who might not normally be interested in them.”

(Tickets for the event can be purchased at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/four-games-in-fall-the-deflategate-documentary-film-tickets-43376123152.)